Adland - The Movie

Adland the movie for Circle Creative. How many adverts can you spot within the video? For more information on the show reel you can contact: http://www.coy-com.com

Creativity to a colleague, is not necessarily creativity to a consumer

Creative, Strategic, Dynamic, Fresh, ROI, Infusing, Digital, User Engagement, Interactive, Mindset, Value Justification, Benchmarking and Social, just a few of the buzz words and terms that fly around any Ad office, and clutter the minds of any Adman. However, as important as they may be in Adland, how relevant or understood are they to the consumer? Or is it even important whether they're relevant or understood by the masses?

Adland is what, if I may, liken to a box. As much as everyone within the box tries and encourages everyone to look 'outside the box', it still remains the sole place for all the words listed above. But with Ad accounts worth millions, and salary paying clients demanding the very best in creative work, the end result from any agency is essentially the best form of marketing for their specific target-market, at that very moment in time, from all the sources currently available to them, right? Well, for a moment I'd like to disagree and look at it from, well from 'outside the box'. It must be stated, Advertising has become more and more creative, there is more emphasis on the idea, the process, the interaction and social integration. However, are these objectives and 'value added' requirements for the fulfillment of a clients brief for the consumer, or merely for the enjoyment, admiration and bragging rights within Adland?

Creativity and Dynamism is undoubtedly rooted in confidence and self ego, it's a key factor in generating belief and passion within the work that you do. However, the distinction that needs to be made is between confident, ego boosting work for the consumer, which they can relate to at every level, interact with and engage in the underlying notions and messages, and the confident, ego boosting work that is done with Adland in mind, for it's appreciation acknowledgment first, and for the consumer second. Some may say it's a two way process, and what happens in Adland, and it's impression and influence on your work is for the benefit of Advertising, and the quality of work produced. However, should the work produced be for the better of Adland or for the benefit of the consumer? I feel I'm asking far more question than I'm actually answering at this stage, and there's some questions which are simply beyond me, as after all, it's all an opinion, and as we all know they vary from one person to the next, and mine seem to change from one hour to the other. One thing I am sure of is, the words at the top of this post are very important, and play a key role in any piece of work. However, yes, those words are for the folk within the so called 'box', and a pleasant box it really is I must admit, yet the work produced from those words should undoubtedly be firstly for the consumer, and then for anyone else you may want to 'advertise' your 'offering' or 'skills' to.

Creativity to a colleague, is not necessarily creativity to a consumer.

A final point I feel I need to make is that, as much as I've gone one way then the other in terms of the true objectives of any work, I must stress all Creative, Dynamic, Strategic and Interactive work is for the overall benefit of the industry. That may seem like a cop out in relation to what has been stated above, however, as an Adland lover and self-confessed creative geek, the consumer is important, yes, however, the quality of work is just a little teeny weeny bit more. I'm not sure if thats my ego seeping through there, or just the inability to look far enough outside this lovely, rather pleasant and finely brushed box.

The Digital Melody

'Digital' doing a..rather peculiar bit of inspiring on a somewhat mellow Tuesday afternoon...

It's all Digital Digital, so damn Digital

Ladies let me show you how this new flow goes

Sit back and watch it flow, flow flow flow flow

Businesses lets see how low your bottom line can go

Its all Digital Digital, from mobile, TV, and computers too

Never mind the doubters as there are now only a few

TV's Digital, radio's Digital, shopping socializing and talking too

Its time to move, time to change, time to leave that restricted thought

The new era has now been sought

So what is Digital, how is Digital, why is Digital and what do I do

It's like head shoulders knees and toes

Yes head shoulders knees and toes

Watch me and I'll take you slow

All set and off we go

TV, radio, HD too

Screens aplenty and we all have a few

A billion apps, unused tweets, GPS to help us reach

All this and yet we still call it relatively new

It's time to know, time to learn, time to explore and then to teach

Its the way forward and it's definitely begun

So aim up, open your mind, and even now you've already given it a try

Reach up and we'll soon touch the sky

But now it's time for me to go, for me to go and run and hide

But I'll still be here, here in soul

Here in Digital as the world passes us by

And now I have what Digital is, so now I know I'm control.

It's all Digital Digital..Digital Digital...

...hmmm...and I have absolutely no idea where the punctuation should or should not go...

Why is Adland such a 'blah'?

There are no set rules, no specifics, no guidelines, no true way, no defined path. Just a conglomerate of information and ideals, which inevitably vary immensely from one person to another, from one hour to the next. Lets just look at the 'simple' issue of employment in this vacuum of creativity and sacredness. Is a degree enough? Is a Masters enough? Is a Phd enough? A years experience? 2 years? 17years? A blog followed by 159,098? Devilishly good looks? A designer suit? A pair of converse? A few good 'tweets'? Well the honest answer is no. Thats not enough. If that was all that was required of us then I guess we'd share our departments with the accountants, not that their a bad species or anything. But Advertising and Marketing, lets get it technically right, ok, Marketing and PR is not based on rigid structure, or defined achievements; nobody knows what is, or is not enough, you only know once you try it and see what results. Like everything in Marketing and PR it's about being fresh, dynamic, infusing your ability with what is required, and not blurting out a mass of creative mess which has no meaning, association, or connection.

Above all else and most importantly, its about passion, creativity and enthusiasm for media. Enjoying all aspects of interaction, and finding it to be a hobby that you love and enjoy, more so than seeing it as work, or a job. It is about having the ability and character to infuse your passion, creativity and ability in a very productive and driven manner in order to utilise your skills and proficiency effectively for your organisation and client.

So why is Adland such a blah? Well it's got a lot to do with everything and everyone involved. Creativity is a blah, it's not defined or structured, getting in is a blah, ones job role is a blah, you might look back and consider this post to have merged into a blah of information. Everything is an opinion and that's what makes Adland such a potent, and diverse being. It's constantly evolving, growing, learning and adapting. It's not merely a 'blah', it is something so much more powerful than that. It is becoming what it wasn't yesterday, which is what makes it what it is.